Bandwidth expansion will mean better Internet access and performance

Because the City has been consistently reaching peak bandwidth capacity, City computer users have been experiencing slow Internet access. Performance should improve on July 7 when the City’s bandwidth will be expanded.

Bandwidth is the volume of information within a unit of time that an Internet connection can handle. About.com offers this analogy about bandwidth: "Data is to available bandwidth as water is to the size of the pipe." As bandwidth increases, more data can flow back and forth in the same amount of time.

BIS’s initiative to expand bandwidth is a recognition that the City is consistently reaching peak bandwidth capacity (Internet traffic) every Monday through Friday. Reaching bandwidth capacity results in slowdowns that can make it harder for you to get your day-to-day work done.

Because expanding bandwidth represents a significant cost to the City and bandwidth is not limitless, BIS cautions that wise use of the Internet is still needed. You can minimize bandwidth capacity problems by:

Closing external Internet sites after you’re done using them. Leaving a website open continues to take bandwidth because the site could be continually refreshing or streaming information to your PC. (Note: Leaving CityTalk pages open is fine because you are not using the Internet to access those pages.)

Avoiding sites with video or audio. Employees are asked not to use the Internet to livestream music. If you wish to listen to music at work, use a radio with headphones or your personal iPod.

Promptly closing any website with music or streaming video. Sites such as YouTube, Pandora, GoogleVideo, Facebook, MySpace and Slacker use an exceptional amount of bandwidth so it’s important not to leave them open when you aren’t actively using them.